Ford, Whittier highlight UT Hall of Honor class

AUSTIN — The point guard who led Texas to the Final Four and the first African-American to play football for the Longhorns highlight an eight-man class that will be inducted into the UT men’s Hall of Honor this year.

Joining basketball standout T.J. Ford and football pioneer Julius Whittier in the 2013 class are football players Quentin Jammer, Roy Williams and Rene Ramirez, baseball players Brian Cisarik and Lou Bagwell, and administrator Larry Falk. All eight will be inducted during a ceremony on Nov. 1 and honored at UT’s football game against Kansas the next day.

Ford earned national player of the year honors in 2003, when he lifted the Longhorns to their first Final Four in 56 years.

Whittier, an offensive tackle and tight end, accepted a UT football scholarship out of San Antonio Highlands in 1969 and in 1970 broke the Longhorns’ color barrier by becoming the first black player to letter in football.

Jammer, a defensive back, and Williams, a wide receiver, both starred at UT in the early 2000s and went on to NFL careers. Ramirez was an all-Southwest Conference halfback in 1959.

Cisarik, a member of three College World Series teams, in 1987 batted .429, which remains the highest single-season average in UT history. Bagwell also played on three CWS teams, and was an all-SWC infielder in 1969 and 1970.

Falk started at UT as a student manager in 1981 and now serves as assistant athletic director for operations administration.